MAN OF THE WEEK

Talking About the SpeakerRepublican John Boehner hits the fashion target in some respects, but we o� er a surplus of ideas for improvement. Page MW2

PLUS:HMX is taking it to the Streets, with a new retail concept slated for September. Page MW2

July 28, 2011

The next step in the HMX Group’s reinvention includes the creation of a new luxury men’s label under the name of venerable Scottish textile mill Reid & Taylor. Here, a sketch of one of the looks from the collection, which will debut for fall 2012. For more, see page MW2.

Scottish Highland

A WHITE KNIGHT?

PPR, BrioniSaid NearingPossible Deal Italian men’s label could bring close to $400 million.

by LUISA ZARGANI

MILAN — Three years after Brioni initiated a search for an investor, the Italian men’s powerhouse could be nearing a sale — and to none other than PPR.

The French group that owns Gucci fi rst emerged as a possible investor in Brioni in 2009 after the Italian company tapped BNP Paribas in November 2008 to help sell a 20 to 25 percent stake. A prospectus was said to have reached a short list of potential in-vestors, including PPR, LVMH Moët Hen-nessy Louis Vuitton and Mediobanca. Later that year, Brioni said it was no longer seek-ing an investor.

Now the need for an injection of cash is a priority, according to sources.

“A sale is highly likely and it would make sense to sell to PPR,” said one industry source. “They need capital to help relaunch the brand because they are weighed down by debt of almost 100 million euros [$144.6 million], they need a vision, and they need to modernize their manufacturing capabilities and structure.”

The source said Brioni is appealing to PPR, which has been divesting its retail assets and focusing on its luxury and sports brands. “The brand is unique, as there are only two or three [men’s wear] fi rms with such know-how, exclusive positioning and international visibility to boot,” according to the source, who requested anonymity. “It’s a brand that has magic and huge potential. If managed the right way, it can be incredibly successful.”

The PPR name surfaced once again in con-nection with Brioni in a report in Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Wednesday. Both PPR and Brioni declined comment on the story.

Part of Brioni’s debt stems from the com-pany’s buyout of former chief executive offi cer Umberto Angeloni for an estimated 80 million euros in 2006, or $104.8 million at average ex-change rates for that year. In his 16 years at the company, Angeloni was instrumental in build-ing Brioni into a luxury lifestyle brand.

“I hope it really happens, for the good of the brand and of the business,” Angeloni told WWD on Wednesday. “A global luxury group such as PPR can defi nitely bring the urgent fi nancial and managerial support needed to revive the lifestyle component of the brand. And, even more importantly, it can reset Brioni’s strategic direction in tune with the new competitive scenario and con-sumer sentiment.”

The executive is now ceo and major-ity shareholder of luxury Italian tailoring brand Caruso.

{Continued on page MW4}

by JEAN E. PALMIERI HMX GRouP is turning its attention to retail.

This fall, the New York-based apparel manufacturer will debut a new retail concept — Streets — that will bring together all its men’s brands in one location.

The first two, Streets of Georgetown and Streets of Beverly Hills, are slated to open in September. The 4,000-square-foot Georgetown store on Wisconsin Avenue and the 3,000-square-foot unit on North Beverly Drive will showcase Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx, Bobby Jones, Coppley, Palm Beach and the company’s newest ini-tiative, Reid & Taylor.

HMX is seeking additional sites in key u.S. cities in-cluding New York, Boston and Chicago. The plan, accord-ing to Doug Williams, chief executive officer, is to open two Streets stores this year and two to three next year.

“our retail partners do an amazing job selecting among

everything we do here, but it doesn’t give us the opportunity to exploit some of the things we really believe in,” Williams said. “So we are creating a retail laboratory that will allow us to bring everything under one roof and test new product. It will help us fig-ure out what works and what doesn’t work.”

Williams said the Streets moniker came from “our desire to have stores that have intimate relationships with the com-munities in which they reside. We thought about what is essential to great cities and it is great streets, whether Madison Av-enue, Michigan Avenue, Newbury Street, Worth Avenue, Bond Street or the Champs Elysées — all are great places that repre-sent their city.”

Joseph Abboud, president and chief creative officer of HMX, said the stores will offer “retail theater. It’s not about covering the body, we’re out to create a fun expe-rience.” The stores will provide made-to-measure services as well as regionally targeted product specific to each city.

“We can do limited edition pieces,” Abboud said, pointing to HMX’s own factories that can produce merchandise within 30 days. Williams said if the com-

pany believes in a particular trend, gray flannel for example, “we can put new pro-grams in the stores in an integrated group.”

The mix will also include some third-party brands such as Filson bags. “Ninety percent of the merchandise will be our own brands but we will search out other amazing American jewels,” Abboud said.

HMX currently operates Hickey Freeman stores in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco and there is a Bobby Jones unit in Naples, Fla. The New York unit, on Madison Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets, will undergo a complete renovation in January, Williams said, to “bring it up to our standards and the creative design you now see in the brand. It’s basically a bunch of racks today — it has no personality and doesn’t reflect the point of view of Hickey Freeman.”

The first floor will merchandise sportswear and tai-lored clothing together, he said, while the second floor

will be devoted to tailored merchandise. A separate made-to-measure room will be located in the rear. “one-third of the business in the store today is made-to-measure,” Wil-liams said.

“It will be an American Savile Row concept,” Abboud added. “It will have a luxury feel, but it won’t be offputting.”

one new addition to the Streets stores will be the Reid & Taylor label, which is currently in development and will be launched for fall ’12. It is being positioned as an au-thentic Scottish brand.

Reid & Taylor is a venerable and well-respected fabric mill in the Scottish Highlands that traces its roots to 1837.

It is owned by S. Kumars Nationwide Ltd., the majority owner of HMX, and one of India’s largest apparel and tex-tile companies with annual sales of $1.4 billion.

Reid & Taylor, which is known primarily as a luxury suiting mill — it sells to high-end companies such as Bri-oni and Prada, according to Ashley Potter, brand manager — has built a $300 million retail business in India. The brand produces moderately priced suits for the Indian market and has 370 stores in that country.

“But Nitin [Kasliwal, SKNL’s vice chairman and manag-ing director] has challenged us to take Reid & Taylor to a global brand with a good-better-best strategy,” said Potter.

So while the Indian product will continue to be pro-duced for the moderate market, the big push is for a lux-ury-level collection that will be marketed first in Europe and then to other countries including the u.S. “We want to develop an international brand that will be a notch or two above what is in India but with the same DNA,” Abboud said.

SKNL is also planning to add retail stores for the label, with the first expected to open in London sometime next year. “We’re looking at Covent Garden and Knightsbridge,” Potter said. “We really want to bring the brand to life.” Reid & Taylor will also be shown at the Pitti uomo show in Florence in January.

“We’re creating a luxury level, platinum label that will be a complement to Hickey Freeman,” said Abboud.

The collection will include tailored clothing, sports-wear and furnishings and will feature the brand’s long-standing logo, a crest with its icon, Rupert the ram, in a top hat. In clothing, the silhouette is lean and key pieces include vested suits, double-breasted tweed jackets and hacking riding coats. Sportswear offerings will include Fair Isle, argyle and tartan sweaters, distressed leathers and washed velvets. The company is planning to open a showroom in London and will be hiring a design team in the u.K.

The initial collection will feature several groups, all with a distinct Scottish sensibility. The Loch Loden group, for example, will feature a lot of knitwear, woven sport shirts, soft unconstructed jackets and quilted vests. Malt Whiskey will focus on shearlings, suedes and patchwork. “It’s a really powerful collection,” Abboud said.

“This is a pretty big initiative for SKNL,” he continued. “We’re looking at launching with stores in London and New York.” A New York store would be downtown, not in Midtown, to “create buzz about the new brand. We don’t want it to be staid.”

The company has quietly started to show some initial sketches of the collection to key retailers and the response has been positive, according to Abboud. “We have high hopes and expectations for this brand,” he said.

Abboud said the Italian brands, as strong as they are, have become commonplace and “it’s now Great Britain’s turn. This will have a real Seventies, Hardy Amies sensibil-ity.” Suits will retail for $1,200 to $1,800, shirts will be $195 to $250, sweaters will sell for $295 to $700, casual trousers will average $245, neckwear, handmade in London, will be $145. The tailored clothing portion of the collection will be manufactured in HMX’s factories in Canada while the sportswear will be made in the u.K. and Italy.

The Indian suit, in contrast, retails for $300 to $400, which Potter said represents a premium product in that country.

Men’s Week

Dek goes here for this dek goes here for this dek goes here for this.

MW2 WWD THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011

Man of THE WEEK

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The House Speaker, who is holding steady to the Republican agenda while negotiating to raise the country’s debt ceiling, should consider raising his own fashion ceiling.

A button-down collar is very inappropriate for

such a serious affair.

The suit is oversized and not flattering to

his body type, but it’s the right color

and fabric.

The choice of a checked shirt is perfect for a

Saturday picnic in the Hamptons, not for a

White House standoff. A big shoulder, but not sharp. The down slope makes

him look sloppy.The choice of yellow, which is among the

most unpopular colors, is more

confrontational and not the best choice

for negotiating. Think blue for unity,

red for power.

Sleeve length is perfect.

Tassels on the shoes provide the finishing

touch for a look that is too preppy overall.

JoHn BoeHner: B-

HMX to Launch New Line, Retail Concept

The Streets of Georgetown store is opening in September.

reid & Taylor is being positioned as an authentic Scottish brand.

Men’s WeekWWD THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2011MW4

ATLANTA — Contemporary and classic looks topped the shopping lists of men’s wear retailers at The Cobb Show, held July 24 and 25 at the Cobb Galleria here.

Traffic was slow at the show, which exhibitors attributed to retailers that are struggling and reluctant to add new inventory. The number of exhibitors was down, too. The Cobb Show is putting more emphasis on contemporary lines, as well as skate couture brands.

Michael Summers, Southeast sales representative for English Laundry and a member of The Cobb Show’s board of directors, said, “The transi-tion from urban to streetwear and contemporary has been a slow process in the Southeast, but the buyers who have made it are doing business because they’re paying attention to trends.”

New lines at the show included Two in the Shirt, Creative Recreation, Isaac B, Month of Sundays, Fusai, Clae, Rush Couture, Sebago and Deco Denim.

Retailers were shopping mostly for back-to-school immediates and fall. John Suh, owner of Attach, Atlanta, bought khaki pants and cargo shorts, as well as denim, but said he’s cutting back on denim by about 5 percent be-cause the category has been slow. He also shopped for short-sleeve T-shirts (mostly graphics), as well as denim jackets and chambray shirts, which are strong. For holiday, he ordered peacoats.

Suh said his business this summer has been slow but steady and he’s ex-pecting an uptick in the fall.

Jamal Reynolds, owner of Hits in Fayetteville, N.C., booked cardigans, plaid shirts, slim jeans, graphic T-shirts, and cargo shorts for bts and fall. However, he said he wasn’t booking much at the show because he didn’t see as many vendors as he has in the past.

Reynolds said his sales are up about 25 percent this summer because he moved his store to a new location that is attracting new customers and walk-in traffic. As a result, he increased his open-to-buy by 10 percent.

Sammy Dabbous, owner, Urban Nation, Lexington, Ky., planned to book some bts, half of his holiday buy and 25 percent of spring. He was also looking for con-temporary and streetwear in jeans, T-shirts, jackets, cardigans and vests from A Tiziano, Rolling Paper, Parish, New Era, and others. Dabbous, who described his business as slow but steady this summer, was also cutting back on urban looks.

Kwassi Byll-Cataria, co-owner, Moda 404, Atlanta, shopped for bts and fall, and focused on sweaters, lightweight jackets, footwear, patterned shirts (stripes and paisleys in bold colors), and jeans from Envy, Sabit, English Laun-dry, Rocksmith and other brands with a contemporary, fashion-forward look.

“Everything is slimmer now,” he said, adding that he’s increasing his in-ventory by 40 percent in contemporary and streetwear.

Sales this summer are up substantially because he’s buying smarter, he said. “We understand our clientele, and we’re turning inventory quicker.” — BRENDA LLOYD

One source estimated the price tag for Brioni could range upward of 300 million euros, or $395.8 million at current exchange. Another industry source said: “I know Brioni shareholders are in talks with possible partners, they are surely working on inking a deal because they need to invest and develop their business in Asia.”

The source said Brioni needs “to update its struc-ture to keep up with the industry and to define a more contemporary vision to avoid lagging behind.”

One Milan-based luxury goods analyst con-firmed that Brioni is “fine tuning its sharehold-ers’ structure.”

Indeed, one sticky issue, which may have pre-vented the sale in the past, is the company’s com-plicated family ownership.

The controlling shareholders of Brioni are the descendants of the company’s founders — Nazare-no Fonticoli, the master tailor, and Gaetano Savini, the original fashion coordinator. Among them are Antonella De Simone, a granddaughter of Fonticoli; Anna Maria Fonticoli; Maria Vittoria Fonticoli, and former ceo Andrea Perrone, the grandson of Savini. In November 2010, after almost four months without a ceo, Brioni tapped Francesco Pesci to head the firm, succeed-ing Perrone, who resigned in July of that year. Perrone previously shared the role with De Simone.

“The family originally wanted to sell a minority stake, but I doubt that would sit well with an investor such as PPR,” said a Milan-based source. “Whoever comes in will want to have control.”

Brioni, known for its exclusive, handmade and tai-lored men’s suits worn on-screen by James Bond and Tom Hanks’ Robert Langdon in “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels & Demons,” has also been raising its wom-en’s wear profile. In May 2010, the company tapped Alessandro Dell’Acqua as creative director of its women’s line, and the designer has been targeting the brand’s female counterpart with luxurious and glamorous designs.

Based in Penne, Italy, the company, which celebrated its 65th anniversary last year, posted sales of 153 million euros, or $212.6 million, in 2009. Pesci told WWD last year that he expected to close 2010 with a 10 percent gain.

Shares in PPR closed up Wednesday by 0.93 percent at 130.30 euros, or $188.47 at current exchange. — With cONtRiButiONs FROM JOELLE DiDERich

PPR SAID EyEIng bRIonI PURCHASE

by JEAN E. PALMIERI

RAINFOREST IS TAKING the plunge into retail.The New York-based high-end outerwear com-

pany will open two stores in China this fall. The shops, which will measure around 1,000 square feet each, will be located in shopping centers in Hangzhou and suburban Beijing.

“Emerging markets such as China, India and Russia are where things are happening,” said Rain-forest president Jack Wu. “The consumer spending in these areas is growing much faster than it is here, and that will continue for some time. There-fore, Rainforest has decided to go to China for our first store.”

According to a recent Boston Consulting Group report, the fashion market in China is expected to triple in size over the next decade to more than $200 billion.

Wu said the stores are expected to open by the end of September. “The biggest shopping week in China is Oct. 1,” he said, “which is like our Fourth of July.”

The vast majority of the merchandise in the stores will be outerwear for men and women, but the mix will be augmented with shirts and pants as well, Wu said. “We want to be a lifestyle brand, and China is very good for that,” Wu said.

The company recently opened a 3,000-square-foot showroom in China to support the brand’s ini-tiatives in that country.

“We will open the two stores as a test, but we’re ready to expand very fast if they’re successful,” Wu said, adding that he would consider franchising the brand in China. “I could see us opening as many as 100 stores. There are more than 200 cities in China that have more than 2 million people.” He added: “I believe the designers or brands that are currently not in China or not planning to go there soon will miss the boat. All the research indicates that the consum-er spending for the upper end in China will surpass the U.S.’s in the near future. China is rapidly becom-ing a large and important market.”

He said if the Chinese stores turn out to be pop-ular, Rainforest would consider opening stores in the U.S. as well.

by HOLLY HABER

DALLAS — Q Custom Clothier, a men’s clothing shop based in Dallas with salespeople nationwide, is add-ing a third store and launching a casual concept.

The company plans to open a 2,700-square-foot store Aug. 1 in Houston that will house Q Custom Clothier in one half and Rye 51, a new contem-porary men’s store, in the other, said Raja Ratan, owner, founder and chief executive officer.

“We plan to roll out the dual concept to as many markets as we can,” he said. “Our three-year plan would be eight stores.” He’s looking at major cities with reasonable rent, such as Chicago and Atlanta.

In business since 2003, Q Custom Clothier has two stores in Dallas at Highland Park Village and West Village and a shop-in-shop at Q Saxon Judd in Tulsa, Okla. It offers made-to-measure suits starting at $1,000 and shirts from $120 that are manufactured at Ratan’s family’s factory in Hong Kong and delivered within a month.

Company sales grew 20 percent last year to $3.6 million and are expected to reach $5.5 mil-lion this year, Ratan said. He started the business

with his brother, Ravi, who now owns and man-ages Cufflinks.com.

“We have a huge clientele of professional athletes — Ben Roethlisberger, LaDainian Tomlinson, pretty much every Texas Ranger and a ton of Major League Baseball and NFL clients,” Ratan claimed. “We do all their suits.”

In addition to the stores, Ratan employs a na-tional team of salespeople who call on men in their homes and offices.

The decision to move into contemporary sports-wear was based on customer requests. “Our custom-ers ask us where to go to get denim and contemporary [merchandise] and we have to lead them to the mall.

Today there is a strong lack of cool higher-end men’s wear, and that’s where Rye 51 comes in.”

In contrast to Q’s clubby pol-ished wood decor, Rye 51 will have an industrial look with concrete floors, oversize screw-pipe fixtures and reclaimed, distressed wood accents. A complementary full bar will sit behind the cash wrap. The re-tail duo is situated in West Ave, a new development in the afflu-ent River Oaks neighborhood.

Ratan plans to introduce his own line of casual pants, jack-ets and shirts this fall at Rye 51, along with Gimo’s leather jackets, sportswear by John Varvatos, Wings + Horns and Rag & Bone plus denim from Earnest Sewn and Levi’s Made & Crafted.

“We’re not crazy edgy be-cause a guy who’s wearing

$2,000 suits is toned down but still wants luxury goods in one place,” Ratan said.

Houston was a natural because of its proximity to Dallas, its huge energy and medical industries, and its scarcity of custom clothiers.

“The target demographic is the affluent male between 30 and 55,” Ratan noted. “Guys are getting on board with custom and learning about it. They are getting over the misconception that it’s only for guys who can buy a $3,000 suit.”

Q Custom Clothier Sets Expansion

Rainforest to open Two Stores in China

A rendering of one of the China stores.

Q Clothiers is branching out to Houston.

{Continued from page MW1}

A look from Brioni’s spring line.

Retailers in the Southeast Take a Contemporary Turn

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